Google is cracking down on fake news sites by hitting hoax hucksters in the wallet

By
Mike Denison

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November 15, 2016 08:14 AM EST

Google is taking action in the war on fake news.

The company announced Monday it would not let sites that "misrepresent, misstate or conceal information about the publisher, the publisher's content or the primary purpose of the web property" use its AdSense platform, Reuters reports.

Considering display ads are a major source of revenue for many sites, Google's move could be a crippling blow.

This sounds familiar

Facebook has been under fire for allowing fake news and hoax sites to circulate alongside authentic news outlets. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the idea that fake news helped sway the presidential election was "pretty crazy," but later said his company was taking steps to fight fake news.

Close behind that fake news about the vote count was the Snopes article debunking it.

Guests watch a television broadcast of President-elect Donald Trump as he gives his acceptance speech, during an election night event organized by the U.S. Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to be elected the 45th president of the United States. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Google also drew criticism after BuzzFeed News reported Macedonian publishers were creating fake news, largely opposing Clinton, that made money using Google's AdSense. (Pictured: Macedonians watch the election in the U.S. Embassy in Skopje.)

What if it is a site with some real information and some fake news? It requires specialized knowledge, and having humans (do it) doesn't scale.

Fil Menczer, Indiana University

Google already prevents sites with porn, violent material and hate speech from using the AdSense platform.

However, some experts say it could be tricky to separate the fake news from the legitimate. Google hasn't specified how this plan will be carried out.

Facebook & Google seem as ill-prepared for fake news today as email providers were for spam in the early 2000s. Cost to society even higher.